so dam lucky...

yeah...

pinch me later for the horrible pun. The other day we visited a dam. Dams here are like lakes, not huge structures for water to pass through.

(I needed to put rocks in my pockets)

A fairly empty house today; some people are at the airport, and some are busy being soul mates. So Hylein and I watched Love Actually. Perfect Actually. Laurie has gone home and two Canadian girls will arrive tomorrow. This week we studied reptiles and discussed emotions at the primary school.

Here is Tshidiso with his fish puppet.

If you think to think of it, I am staying over in Lesotho tomorrow night. It needs to run smoothly. We are staying for the night so that when we cross back over into South Africa my visa will be extended.

love you, but my book is calling me.

never in the wrong time or place

Greetings,

I am back from the mountain, and I have managed to get the sniffles. People tell me that I get sick fast, but I must say that this is the first time in three months of being in Africa. Not so bad. This trip to the mountain was quite different than the last; the weather was cold and rainy for the most part, but I absolutely have some experiences to share. Laurie, the women who completely fits my vision of an All-American mom was with us. And she was totally that, a lively mother figure.


This is me and her on the game-drive. (I know it is a very cheesy picture with the wind blowing and what not)


We are still busy working at the primary school in the village, and it is still so much fun for me. This week we did lessons of families.

This picture shows me with some of the kids in the classroom. It is fairly mandatory that they wear their uniforms, with some exception.


And this one is during one of our crafts with them.


I set my frog free last week and so this week I found a new class pet. I heard him about a kilometre away and could not ignore the noise. Some kids were treating him horribly, like nothing I have seen before and I wanted to go and snatch him from them. I found him hidden behind a bush, shaking and in rough shape. I brought him back to the care centre, bathed him, fed him, and tried to get him to some health before I would loose him.

This is Patata. I named him that, after sweet potatoes. He is a very small puppy, who loves to eat tuna and pasta. I only had him for a few days but I tried in those days to nurse him back to some state of wellness. A very cute and loyal pup he is.


We were able to go back to the Shack church in town. As always, it was such a moving experience. The voices are something that cannot be forgotten. I will try and get some video up. Something to note though: I have found here that there are certain things that I cannot capture on camera or in film. I was thinking today that Africa is like that in many ways. The pictures I can get are things that you can picture; the skies, the singing and some of the people though, you seriously just have to be there. (Sorry).

This is Laurie and I with Stompy, the pastor of the Shack church.


At the care-center this week our theme was dinosaurs. One day we made costumes with them, turned out quite well.

This is the adorable Tshidiso.


Today was the first funeral I have ever been to. It is strange that my first one is in Africa, where funerals are a celebratory event, not a time for mourning. There was a girl in the village that died last week, so this Friday the parties began. What happens is her family needs to throw a large party. People do not come with food to comfort them; they come expecting food and drink. The family needs to pay to have a grave prepared, rental of a huge tent, and then the food. They need to sacrifice a cow so the skin can go in the grave; they need to kill a sheep for the gravediggers to eat, and then provide enough food for all the guests. Keep in mind this extremely costly event is a responsibility for what can be an extremely poor family. What we saw today was the parade of about 50 people singing and hiking down to the grave site.

This picture shows the house of the family, with the large tent for the party goers to stay over in.



Also this week, I had another terrifying bug experience, I sorted through over 500 cans of non-perishables, and one of the ladies we work with gave me some beautiful fabrics. The bug experience was last night, this time it was a huge, green, half spider half grasshopper with wings, that was lurking over my bed. I couldn't’t handle it so I moved my mattress into Laurie’s room. The cans I sorted were donations that we received and will distribute in the village. The best part though, I managed to salvage a few cans of creamed corn to indulge in! And the fabric, Martha was wearing a green looking head wrap and I asked her where she bought it. The next day she gave it to me with a matching skirt!

And one more photo. This is one of the only ways to capture the feeling in these surroundings.



love Nicole

because you shine

Demela,

I wanted to write today.
Some news: A wonderful lady from the States has joined us for a couple of weeks. Again, an American that represents the country in a such a positive, super hard to criticize way. Also, we started working at the school in the village every day and I am having such a great time doing it. To actually stand in front of a class, write on a board, pre-make lesson plans, I know I could do it for the rest of my life. One more thing, we are going to stay on the mountain for a week or so starting this weekend so I thought I would write a little something before another secluded adventure.

But here are some recent photos for you your viewing pleasure.

yes yes, I know I am not looking, but this one is good shot of the kids at their desks.


and this one... maybe you can imagine how much I loved standing at this chalkboard, with a classroom full of kids.


ah, and here, my wonderful little ones staying warm for the winter.


After Sunday here I will be off the Internet for a bit, so email before then if you need, otherwise I will speak with you now. (saying 'now' in South Africa means that I will speak with you any time between 2 minutes from now to 2 months)

love and love and love

Happy Easter!

It has been a while since I have filled you all in, but I thought I would wait until today so I could mention the week. I ventured into a new country, treated myself with tea, and we celebrated Easter all week with kids on the mountain. I got to do tons of crafts, and even play gym teacher!

Let's let the photos do the talking.

We went into Lesotho this week for a bbq inside of a cave. Lesotho is a very small country that is surrounded by South Africa. It is completely third world, very traditional villages inside. There were huge caves to see, a wall of purple rock, and the most intricate, beautiful trees.





The older kids that live in the village are on Holidays this week so we ran a program with them. Each day we did some stories, some music, some physical exercise and then crafts. On Thursday we decorated eggs with everyone. The ladies thought I was crazy, first off for coloring food when it could be eaten, and then for blowing the yokes through a small hole?





My kids are still doing well, they are learning lots. This week we are starting a unit on musical instruments and a lady from the US is coming. Here are the wee ones with their evil teacher making them write N n hundreds of times.



In other news, my favorite accessory in the house, a great shot of some kids outside, and I warned you... I treated everything with tea. No shame.







I hope you still love me after that last one...

Now go, and enjoy the eggs, the hams, and the Jesus.

much love